BATESVILLE, Ark. – Eighty two graduates walked across the stage at the pinning ceremony for the registered nursing program Dec. 4 at the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville.

Several awards were given to recognized graduates for their outstanding achievements. The Nightingale Award, named after Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing, was awarded to the student that not only showed that he or she adhered to the standards that Nightingale set forth, but also incorporated the "heart" of nursing. The award recognized a student who had spent time with a patient that was lonely, listened to a patient’s fears and anxieties and held the hand of a patient who was in need of human touch. An award was given to a student in the traditional RN track and a student in the online RN track. The winners of the 2015 Nightingale Award were:

Online- Jonathan Miller

Traditional- Nichole Rogers

The Academic Achievement Award was given to the student who had the overall highest GPA throughout the program. An award was given to a student in both the traditional and online RN tracks. They were:

Online- Kimberly Wright-Smith

Traditional- Karen Bush

The Community Award was given to a student (both online and traditional) that logged in the most community service hours worked during the entire program. Although all students are required to do community service, many students go beyond the required number of service hours. Students that had a number of service hours close to the winning total were given certificates of appreciation. Winners included:

Community Service Award

Online- Charles Michael Morgan

Traditional- Hanah Bettis

Community Service Certificates of Appreciation

Tammie Murphree

Raini Stewart

Robin Rushing

Casey Carle

Shenikka Davidson

Of the 82 graduates in the program, 25 were recognized for perfect attendance throughout the program’s entirety. They were: